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Svart Records – Out Now.
Bedemon is a name that not many people, however much involved in Heavy Metal music, are expected to know. This has mainly to do with the fact that, even though they have been in existence since 1973, it is only now that their second studio album, entitled “Symphony Of Shadows”, has been released.
If fans of the 70s Doom Metal legends Pentagram find this story to be terribly familiar it is for good reason – this is the very band in which Bobby Liebling (vocals), Randy Palmer (guitar) and Geoff O’Keefe (drums) learned their craft! Similar to Pentagram, the story of Bedemon is ridden with bad luck and abuse in equal measures, as Randy Palmer sadly passed away during the recording process of this very album, leaving the remaining members to complete and release this nine track album as a form of tribute to their fallen comrade.
Svart Records, a Finnish label responsible for the release of Pentagram’s albums on vinyl in the recent past, jumped at the opportunity of giving Bedemon a home, and a good thing they did as “Symphony Of Shadows” is in many ways comparable to any of Pentagram’s latest albums. Filled with heavy riffs whose groovy sound is both disarming and enjoyable, simple and ever-changing rhythmically, Bedemon’s music can be a real treat to any fan of classic Doom Metal, but especially to those of you who worship at the altar of guitar legend Tony Iommi.
Similarities with Pentagram become clearly audible from the opening few seconds of “Saviour” and can be found in abundance throughout the album. Check out “Lord Of Desolation” and be enthralled by its brilliant bass leads and clever rhythmical arrangements or sit back and enjoy the fitting flute arrangements in “Son Of Darkness” or the Sabbath-laden solos in the colourful but quite moody “The Plague”.
The quality of the head banging riffs of “D.E.D” is such that it can easily be considered the highlight of the album but, sadly, the follow-up “Kill You Now” lacks both passion and finesse as it finds the band unsuccessfully incorporating…Punk elements! The last three compositions of the album are the longest and more rhythmically diverse, with “Godless” coming across as heavy and urgent, “Hopeless” dramatic and moody and “Eternally Unhuman” – filled with beautifully-crafted but evil-sounding guitar melodies.
“Symphony Of Shadows” may not be the most technically challenging album that you will ever encounter, nor the best sounding in terms of recording quality, but it has what most modern recording lacks: depth, passion and soul.
It is a real shame that Randy Palmer is not around to witness the release of this album and enjoy the many positive reviews already provided by my fellow journalists, but, even so, “Symphony Of Shadows” stands as a true testament to powerful, emotive and uncompromising music.
John Stefanis
Rating: **** (4.0/5.0)
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